Dean Johnson, Professor Villazor Co-author Immigration Op-ed for Sacramento Bee

Dean Kevin R. Johnson and Professor Rose Cuison Villazor published an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee regarding "Kate's Law," a bill before Congress that proposes to imprison for five years noncitizens convicted of re-entering the country. The proposal comes in response to the killing of Kathryn Steinle, allegedly at the hands of an undocumented immigrant who had already been deported several times.

"Such a proposal, however, will not truly address the concern of removing serious criminals from our streets," Johnson and Villazor write. "Instead, it would imprison many low- and medium-skilled workers who are not dangerous to the community and lack legal avenues for coming to the United States."

Johnson and Villazor also offer a set of principles by which immigration laws should be reformed. Immigration enforcement should be "in the near-exclusive hands of the federal government," while "state and local governments must be allowed to establish law enforcement priorities tailored for their communities and decide how to appropriately cooperate with federal immigration enforcement." Most crucially, "the federal government must focus removal efforts on serious criminals."

"We should avoid looking for quick fixes that demonize immigrants as criminals and kicking the can on true reform to the next generation," the essay concludes.

Sacramento Bee

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